Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888) was a German priest and scholar whose theology points to the inner coherence of the Christian faith and its supernatural mysteries. Notable in his own time, Scheeben later received praise from Pope Pius XI, who in 1935 encouraged study of the late theologian's works, reflecting: "The entire theology of Scheeben bears the stamp of a pious ascetical theology." Hans Urs von Balthasar credited Scheeben as "the greatest German theologian to date." Scheeben's works include Nature and Grace, The Mysteries of Christianity, and the unfinished Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics.

Since the Council of Trent, Catholic theology has been preoccupied with the relationship between nature and grace. Scheeben's beautifully rigorous discussion of this problem—not least his insight that it ought to be treated within the doctrine of creation—shows how successfully post-Tridentine theology came to grips with the twin commitments to the necessity of grace and the completely free donation by God of that same grace. This is perhaps the most demanding volume of Scheeben's dogmatic theology, and it may also be the most rewarding." - Bruce D. Marshall Southern Methodist University"Michael Miller's monumental effort to translate Scheeben's Dogmatics is one of the most important theological undertakings of recent years, and a real gift to the universal Church. In this volume, Scheeben offers his most mature treatment of the topic of nature and grace, which inspired his theology from the beginning. For Scheeben, the relationship between nature and grace is no minor point of Catholic doctrine but frames the whole of God's purpose for creation: to elevate human beings through Christ to the status of supernatural participation in the divine nature, indeed, to the status of adoptive sons and daughters who, by the grace of the Spirit, become true likenesses of God, analogically imaging the Son's own eternal filiation from the Father." - John R. Betz University of Notre Dame"If grace often appears as arbitrary and unintelligible in the modern world, it is because we have lost the meaning of nature and creation. Scheeben's profound treatment of nature and the supernatural in the context of the doctrine of creation in this third volume was foundational for the twentieth century debate on nature and grace. With this translation, Michael J. Miller has ensured that Scheeben will once again prove foundational to any hoped for renewal of Catholic thought on these essential—and now urgent—questions." - Michael Hanby John Paul II Institute, Catholic University of America

• BOOK THREE: God in His Fundamental, Original Relation to the World or the Founding of the Natural and Supernatural Order of the WorldCHAPTER ONE: The world in its essential and general relation to God as to its principle and endA. Dependence of worldly beings on God as the principle of their coming to be, existence, and workingOrigin of all things from God through creation out of nothingThe temporality of creation and the beginning of the worldGod as principle of the existence and continuance of created beings: preservation of the world by GodGod as principle of all activity and of all working of creatures, or the natural concurrence of God as the motion of causes and cooperation with causes, or as cause of an action and joint cause of an effectB. The world’s dependence on God as its final purpose and ultimate end and on His guidance toward itEssential relation of created beings to God as the final purpose and ultimate end of their being, working, and strivingThe movement of worldly beings toward their final end in their dependence on the guidance or government of God through His ProvidenceC. The world in relation to the divine ideas and to God as its ideal: the general properties, multiplicity, and gradation of the individual worldly beings corresponding to that ideal, and also the order and unity, perfection and beauty of the whole worldCHAPTER TWO: Created beings individually in their nature and natural endowments and orderSECTION ONE The kingdom of pure spirits or angelsA. Name and general concept, existence, and origin of the angelsB. The being of the angels and its attributesa. The substance and essence of the angels: their incorporeality and immateriality or spiritualityb. The attributes of the being of angels, especially their incorruptibility and their relation to space: locality and mobilityC. The natural life and the efficacy of the angelsa. The life of the angels in generalb. The intellect and knowledge of the angelsc. The will and the volition of angelsd. The external power and efficacy of angels in relation to bodies, human beings, and other angels; esp. the miraculous power, the speech, and the illumination of angelsD. Number, differences, and hierarchy of the angels—the angelic world and its natural relation to the rest of the worldSECTION TWO The kingdom of material beings or of the visible worldTheological doctrines about the material world in generalThe doctrinal content of the Mosaic Hexaemeron: the teleological-architectonic arrangement of the visible cosmos and the genetic sequence of its members at their origination in God’s seven daysThe wording of the Hexaemeron and the geogony of natural scienceSECTION THREE Man, considered according to his natureA. The Creator’s last word and the theological idea of man as God’s likenessa. The formal meaning of the Creator’s last word and ecclesiastical languageb. The positive content and peculiar character of the theological idea of man as God’s image which is contained in the words of creationc. More detailed definition of the applicability and scope of the divine likeness both on man’s part and on God’s partB. The realization of the divine idea of man, i.e. the origin and substantial character of his nature, corresponding to this idea, in itself and in its racial development, or human nature considered genetically and constitutivelya. The divine production of the first human being in the creation of the man and the concomitant essential constitution of man corresponding to the idea of the divine image: man composed of a body and a spiritual soul through the union of the two into one natureb. The divine production of the first woman, the attendant constitution of human nature according to the difference of the sexes, and the union of the sexes founded thereon, corresponding to the divine image in human nature, so as to constitute the normal principle of the propagation of human nature and of human societyc. The reproduction of human nature by generation and the relation of generation to the constitution of human nature in the one generated, specifically God’s creative cooperation in producing His image in the fruit of the generation—origin of souls—and the resulting dignity of parenthoodd. The uniqueness of the original generating couple and the complete unity of species and true unity of lineage of all human beings communicated by begetting on the basis of that uniqueness, and also the concomitant organic-corporative unity of mankind in the totality of its individuals—as the full realization of the divine idea of manC. Human nature considered formally, i.e. as defined by the peculiar constitution of the human substance or the innate vital condition of manDistinctions and order among the faculties of human nature and among its areas of life. Framing the questionThe spiritual side of human nature in its essential and inalienable perfection as a living image of God: moral freedom and the active power and inclination to know and to love God (or the moral-religious order); particularly the nature of this freedom, which is characteristic of the image of GodThe animal side of human nature or man as “anima vivens” and the natural imperfections and defects of the animal lifeThe natural imperfections or the animal character of the spiritual life in man, or of lower reason, and the resulting difficulty in developing higher knowledge and the moral life, as well as the natural imperfection of the likeness of God in man generallyThe natural destination of the rational creature and its natural orderCHAPTER THREE: The supernatural order of rational creatures established at the same time as creation, or their supernatural destination and endowmentPART ONE: General theory of the supernatural and of graceSECTION ONE Fundamental concepts and Church doctrineGeneral concept of the supernatural and of supernature as opposed to nature and the natural [N.B. “§159” missing in original.]General concept of divine grace in its relation to the natural and the supernatural, specifically as principle and attribute of the latterThe most important errors concerning the supernatural and the Church doctrine formulated in opposition to them; particularly the anti-Pelagian and the anti Reformation Church doctrine in their relation to one anotherSECTION TWO Theory of the absolutely supernatural, i.e. of the elevation of the rational creature to a supernatural communion with God or to participation in God’s glory and lifeThe teaching of Sacred Scripture about supernatural communion with God, specifically under the term adoptive childhoodThe teaching of Tradition about supernatural communion with God, particularly from the perspective of the “divinization” of the creature through the participation in the spirituality, holiness, and glory of the divine nature entailed in the adoptive childhoodEternal life in the beatific vision of God or in “glory” as perfect participation in the glory and blessedness of the divine life, and therefore the supernatural final end of the rational creature and the ideal standard of supernatural life in generalThe supernatural character of the vital acts that lead to the final end of eternal life or introduce it, specifically from the threefold perspective of striving for eternal life, the unification with God that anticipates it—theological love or charity—and the morality corresponding to the call to eternal lifeThe elevating grace required for salutary acts, which qualify the soul for the supernatural life by a grace-filled interior strengthening, elevation, and transfiguration of the spiritual facultiesElevating grace in its normal and permanent form as a supernatural habit of the spiritual faculties or as an infused virtue, and its relation to its principle and its subject; specifically the theological virtuesThe state of grace, i.e. the elevation of the person’s state necessary to possess fully the life of grace and to merit eternal life, or as the nobility of the children of God; also its real foundation by an interior rebirth and transfiguration of created nature to a likeness and equal rank with the divine, or the nature of sanctifying grace as distinct from and in relation to the infused virtuesThe state of grace. Continuation. Its relation to God as its principle: the substantial indwelling of the Holy Ghost as uncreated grace, which is associated with created grace, both to seal the friendly relation of God’s children to God and to constitute fully the divine adoptive childhood itself as a substantial communion with God based on a grace-filled generation from God—or the Holy Ghost as a substantial complement of accidental sanctifying and gratifying graceA. The Western, specifically Scholastic understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as a friendly communion of God’s children with GodB. The Greek patristic view of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as a substantial communion with God that jointly constitutes the divine adoptionC. The harmony between the Latin-Scholastic and the Greek patristic understanding and the relation between indwelling uncreated grace and inhering created graceThe state of grace. Conclusion: sanctifying grace and the grace which makes pleasing in relation to nature as their subject. Their character as a second creation to complete and perfect the first creation supernaturally or to transfigure the image into the likeness of God by supernaturally ennobling the nature and its freedom and producing a higher, spiritual-holy nature and freedomThe relation of nature and of natural freedom to grace, insofar as this relation is given in nature as such or can be produced by it—as a true and living, but also a mere and unpretentious receptivity on the part of nature (potentia obedientialis) and an absolute gratuitousness on the part of graceThe relation of nature to grace, continued. The gracious vocation of nature to grace and the supernatural participation of natural freedom in gaining and receiving grace which is made possible by it and corresponds to it, or the process of introduction into the state of grace (motus ad gratiam)The obligatory vocation of nature to grace and the inclusion thereof in the supernatural order by the original and general law of the Creator of nature, or the supernatural destination included in the actual creative idea of the rational creature as a perfect likeness of God and also in the original expression of the creative idea in the “instituted nature”Overall idea of the supernatural order or its relation to the ultimate and highest final end of creation: the perfect external glorification contained therein of God and specifically of the Trinity and the resulting union of all spiritual creatures into one sanctuary of God or into the ideal ChurchSECTION THREE Theory of the relatively supernatural, i.e. of the supernatural perfecting of human nature as such as distinct from that of the angelsSupernatural content and character of the glorification of human nature in general which is contained in man’s final destination and original endowmentThe intrinsic supernatural nature specifically of the original glorification of human nature as an elevation of the soul in its relation to the body; its significance as a supernatural likeness of the angels and of God, and also its effect as incorruption, integrity, justice, and innocence of nature and of free willThe supernatural glorification of human nature from the perspective of the indebitum, or the bestowal thereof by free graceRelation of the relatively supernatural to the absolutely supernatural in man: the organic and compact union of integrity with grace in the divine idea of the spiritual or perfect man who in himself represents the full visible likeness of God and the visible temple of the Holy Ghost, and in the rightness of the instituted nature which is established and demanded therebyConclusion of the doctrine about the supernatural. Expansion of the supernatural order over the material world; man in the supernatural order as the center of all creationCorollary to the teaching about the supernatural in reference to man: the different states or conditions of human nature and of human freedom which are in themselves conceivable or historically realPART TWO: The concrete realization of the supernatural orderA. In the world of angelsFoundation, operation, and perfection of the supernatural order among the angels: grace, merit, and glory of the angelsThe position and vocation of the perfect angels with regard to the order of salvation in mankind and the two-way communication between them and human beings based thereon. The guardian angelsB. The original establishment of the supernatural order in mankindThe supernatural endowment of the first human beings, or holiness and original justice from the perspective of primordial justice, and the disciplinary precept associated with itThe supernatural endowment of the first human beings as a family estate and common property of the whole race which is to be transmitted, or original holiness and justice from the perspective of inherited justice and the significance of the disciplinary precept for its continuance in the human raceBibliographyScripture IndexSubject and Persons Index

Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888) was a German priest and scholar whose theology points to the inner coherence of the Christian faith and its supernatural mysteries. Notable in his own time, Scheeben later received praise from Pope Pius XI, who in 1935 encouraged study of the late theologian's works, reflecting: "The entire theology of Scheeben bears the stamp of a pious ascetical theology." Hans Urs von Balthasar credited Scheeben as "the greatest German theologian to date." Scheeben's works include Nature and Grace, The Mysteries of Christianity, and the unfinished Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics.

Since the Council of Trent, Catholic theology has been preoccupied with the relationship between nature and grace. Scheeben's beautifully rigorous discussion of this problem—not least his insight that it ought to be treated within the doctrine of creation—shows how successfully post-Tridentine theology came to grips with the twin commitments to the necessity of grace and the completely free donation by God of that same grace. This is perhaps the most demanding volume of Scheeben's dogmatic theology, and it may also be the most rewarding." - Bruce D. Marshall Southern Methodist University"Michael Miller's monumental effort to translate Scheeben's Dogmatics is one of the most important theological undertakings of recent years, and a real gift to the universal Church. In this volume, Scheeben offers his most mature treatment of the topic of nature and grace, which inspired his theology from the beginning. For Scheeben, the relationship between nature and grace is no minor point of Catholic doctrine but frames the whole of God's purpose for creation: to elevate human beings through Christ to the status of supernatural participation in the divine nature, indeed, to the status of adoptive sons and daughters who, by the grace of the Spirit, become true likenesses of God, analogically imaging the Son's own eternal filiation from the Father." - John R. Betz University of Notre Dame"If grace often appears as arbitrary and unintelligible in the modern world, it is because we have lost the meaning of nature and creation. Scheeben's profound treatment of nature and the supernatural in the context of the doctrine of creation in this third volume was foundational for the twentieth century debate on nature and grace. With this translation, Michael J. Miller has ensured that Scheeben will once again prove foundational to any hoped for renewal of Catholic thought on these essential—and now urgent—questions." - Michael Hanby John Paul II Institute, Catholic University of America

• BOOK THREE: God in His Fundamental, Original Relation to the World or the Founding of the Natural and Supernatural Order of the WorldCHAPTER ONE: The world in its essential and general relation to God as to its principle and endA. Dependence of worldly beings on God as the principle of their coming to be, existence, and workingOrigin of all things from God through creation out of nothingThe temporality of creation and the beginning of the worldGod as principle of the existence and continuance of created beings: preservation of the world by GodGod as principle of all activity and of all working of creatures, or the natural concurrence of God as the motion of causes and cooperation with causes, or as cause of an action and joint cause of an effectB. The world’s dependence on God as its final purpose and ultimate end and on His guidance toward itEssential relation of created beings to God as the final purpose and ultimate end of their being, working, and strivingThe movement of worldly beings toward their final end in their dependence on the guidance or government of God through His ProvidenceC. The world in relation to the divine ideas and to God as its ideal: the general properties, multiplicity, and gradation of the individual worldly beings corresponding to that ideal, and also the order and unity, perfection and beauty of the whole worldCHAPTER TWO: Created beings individually in their nature and natural endowments and orderSECTION ONE The kingdom of pure spirits or angelsA. Name and general concept, existence, and origin of the angelsB. The being of the angels and its attributesa. The substance and essence of the angels: their incorporeality and immateriality or spiritualityb. The attributes of the being of angels, especially their incorruptibility and their relation to space: locality and mobilityC. The natural life and the efficacy of the angelsa. The life of the angels in generalb. The intellect and knowledge of the angelsc. The will and the volition of angelsd. The external power and efficacy of angels in relation to bodies, human beings, and other angels; esp. the miraculous power, the speech, and the illumination of angelsD. Number, differences, and hierarchy of the angels—the angelic world and its natural relation to the rest of the worldSECTION TWO The kingdom of material beings or of the visible worldTheological doctrines about the material world in generalThe doctrinal content of the Mosaic Hexaemeron: the teleological-architectonic arrangement of the visible cosmos and the genetic sequence of its members at their origination in God’s seven daysThe wording of the Hexaemeron and the geogony of natural scienceSECTION THREE Man, considered according to his natureA. The Creator’s last word and the theological idea of man as God’s likenessa. The formal meaning of the Creator’s last word and ecclesiastical languageb. The positive content and peculiar character of the theological idea of man as God’s image which is contained in the words of creationc. More detailed definition of the applicability and scope of the divine likeness both on man’s part and on God’s partB. The realization of the divine idea of man, i.e. the origin and substantial character of his nature, corresponding to this idea, in itself and in its racial development, or human nature considered genetically and constitutivelya. The divine production of the first human being in the creation of the man and the concomitant essential constitution of man corresponding to the idea of the divine image: man composed of a body and a spiritual soul through the union of the two into one natureb. The divine production of the first woman, the attendant constitution of human nature according to the difference of the sexes, and the union of the sexes founded thereon, corresponding to the divine image in human nature, so as to constitute the normal principle of the propagation of human nature and of human societyc. The reproduction of human nature by generation and the relation of generation to the constitution of human nature in the one generated, specifically God’s creative cooperation in producing His image in the fruit of the generation—origin of souls—and the resulting dignity of parenthoodd. The uniqueness of the original generating couple and the complete unity of species and true unity of lineage of all human beings communicated by begetting on the basis of that uniqueness, and also the concomitant organic-corporative unity of mankind in the totality of its individuals—as the full realization of the divine idea of manC. Human nature considered formally, i.e. as defined by the peculiar constitution of the human substance or the innate vital condition of manDistinctions and order among the faculties of human nature and among its areas of life. Framing the questionThe spiritual side of human nature in its essential and inalienable perfection as a living image of God: moral freedom and the active power and inclination to know and to love God (or the moral-religious order); particularly the nature of this freedom, which is characteristic of the image of GodThe animal side of human nature or man as “anima vivens” and the natural imperfections and defects of the animal lifeThe natural imperfections or the animal character of the spiritual life in man, or of lower reason, and the resulting difficulty in developing higher knowledge and the moral life, as well as the natural imperfection of the likeness of God in man generallyThe natural destination of the rational creature and its natural orderCHAPTER THREE: The supernatural order of rational creatures established at the same time as creation, or their supernatural destination and endowmentPART ONE: General theory of the supernatural and of graceSECTION ONE Fundamental concepts and Church doctrineGeneral concept of the supernatural and of supernature as opposed to nature and the natural [N.B. “§159” missing in original.]General concept of divine grace in its relation to the natural and the supernatural, specifically as principle and attribute of the latterThe most important errors concerning the supernatural and the Church doctrine formulated in opposition to them; particularly the anti-Pelagian and the anti Reformation Church doctrine in their relation to one anotherSECTION TWO Theory of the absolutely supernatural, i.e. of the elevation of the rational creature to a supernatural communion with God or to participation in God’s glory and lifeThe teaching of Sacred Scripture about supernatural communion with God, specifically under the term adoptive childhoodThe teaching of Tradition about supernatural communion with God, particularly from the perspective of the “divinization” of the creature through the participation in the spirituality, holiness, and glory of the divine nature entailed in the adoptive childhoodEternal life in the beatific vision of God or in “glory” as perfect participation in the glory and blessedness of the divine life, and therefore the supernatural final end of the rational creature and the ideal standard of supernatural life in generalThe supernatural character of the vital acts that lead to the final end of eternal life or introduce it, specifically from the threefold perspective of striving for eternal life, the unification with God that anticipates it—theological love or charity—and the morality corresponding to the call to eternal lifeThe elevating grace required for salutary acts, which qualify the soul for the supernatural life by a grace-filled interior strengthening, elevation, and transfiguration of the spiritual facultiesElevating grace in its normal and permanent form as a supernatural habit of the spiritual faculties or as an infused virtue, and its relation to its principle and its subject; specifically the theological virtuesThe state of grace, i.e. the elevation of the person’s state necessary to possess fully the life of grace and to merit eternal life, or as the nobility of the children of God; also its real foundation by an interior rebirth and transfiguration of created nature to a likeness and equal rank with the divine, or the nature of sanctifying grace as distinct from and in relation to the infused virtuesThe state of grace. Continuation. Its relation to God as its principle: the substantial indwelling of the Holy Ghost as uncreated grace, which is associated with created grace, both to seal the friendly relation of God’s children to God and to constitute fully the divine adoptive childhood itself as a substantial communion with God based on a grace-filled generation from God—or the Holy Ghost as a substantial complement of accidental sanctifying and gratifying graceA. The Western, specifically Scholastic understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as a friendly communion of God’s children with GodB. The Greek patristic view of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as a substantial communion with God that jointly constitutes the divine adoptionC. The harmony between the Latin-Scholastic and the Greek patristic understanding and the relation between indwelling uncreated grace and inhering created graceThe state of grace. Conclusion: sanctifying grace and the grace which makes pleasing in relation to nature as their subject. Their character as a second creation to complete and perfect the first creation supernaturally or to transfigure the image into the likeness of God by supernaturally ennobling the nature and its freedom and producing a higher, spiritual-holy nature and freedomThe relation of nature and of natural freedom to grace, insofar as this relation is given in nature as such or can be produced by it—as a true and living, but also a mere and unpretentious receptivity on the part of nature (potentia obedientialis) and an absolute gratuitousness on the part of graceThe relation of nature to grace, continued. The gracious vocation of nature to grace and the supernatural participation of natural freedom in gaining and receiving grace which is made possible by it and corresponds to it, or the process of introduction into the state of grace (motus ad gratiam)The obligatory vocation of nature to grace and the inclusion thereof in the supernatural order by the original and general law of the Creator of nature, or the supernatural destination included in the actual creative idea of the rational creature as a perfect likeness of God and also in the original expression of the creative idea in the “instituted nature”Overall idea of the supernatural order or its relation to the ultimate and highest final end of creation: the perfect external glorification contained therein of God and specifically of the Trinity and the resulting union of all spiritual creatures into one sanctuary of God or into the ideal ChurchSECTION THREE Theory of the relatively supernatural, i.e. of the supernatural perfecting of human nature as such as distinct from that of the angelsSupernatural content and character of the glorification of human nature in general which is contained in man’s final destination and original endowmentThe intrinsic supernatural nature specifically of the original glorification of human nature as an elevation of the soul in its relation to the body; its significance as a supernatural likeness of the angels and of God, and also its effect as incorruption, integrity, justice, and innocence of nature and of free willThe supernatural glorification of human nature from the perspective of the indebitum, or the bestowal thereof by free graceRelation of the relatively supernatural to the absolutely supernatural in man: the organic and compact union of integrity with grace in the divine idea of the spiritual or perfect man who in himself represents the full visible likeness of God and the visible temple of the Holy Ghost, and in the rightness of the instituted nature which is established and demanded therebyConclusion of the doctrine about the supernatural. Expansion of the supernatural order over the material world; man in the supernatural order as the center of all creationCorollary to the teaching about the supernatural in reference to man: the different states or conditions of human nature and of human freedom which are in themselves conceivable or historically realPART TWO: The concrete realization of the supernatural orderA. In the world of angelsFoundation, operation, and perfection of the supernatural order among the angels: grace, merit, and glory of the angelsThe position and vocation of the perfect angels with regard to the order of salvation in mankind and the two-way communication between them and human beings based thereon. The guardian angelsB. The original establishment of the supernatural order in mankindThe supernatural endowment of the first human beings, or holiness and original justice from the perspective of primordial justice, and the disciplinary precept associated with itThe supernatural endowment of the first human beings as a family estate and common property of the whole race which is to be transmitted, or original holiness and justice from the perspective of inherited justice and the significance of the disciplinary precept for its continuance in the human raceBibliographyScripture IndexSubject and Persons Index

Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888) was a German priest and scholar whose theology points to the inner coherence of the Christian faith and its supernatural mysteries. Notable in his own time, Scheeben later received praise from Pope Pius XI, who in 1935 encouraged study of the late theologian's works, reflecting: "The entire theology of Scheeben bears the stamp of a pious ascetical theology." Hans Urs von Balthasar credited Scheeben as "the greatest German theologian to date." Scheeben's works include Nature and Grace, The Mysteries of Christianity, and the unfinished Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics.

Since the Council of Trent, Catholic theology has been preoccupied with the relationship between nature and grace. Scheeben's beautifully rigorous discussion of this problem—not least his insight that it ought to be treated within the doctrine of creation—shows how successfully post-Tridentine theology came to grips with the twin commitments to the necessity of grace and the completely free donation by God of that same grace. This is perhaps the most demanding volume of Scheeben's dogmatic theology, and it may also be the most rewarding." - Bruce D. Marshall Southern Methodist University"Michael Miller's monumental effort to translate Scheeben's Dogmatics is one of the most important theological undertakings of recent years, and a real gift to the universal Church. In this volume, Scheeben offers his most mature treatment of the topic of nature and grace, which inspired his theology from the beginning. For Scheeben, the relationship between nature and grace is no minor point of Catholic doctrine but frames the whole of God's purpose for creation: to elevate human beings through Christ to the status of supernatural participation in the divine nature, indeed, to the status of adoptive sons and daughters who, by the grace of the Spirit, become true likenesses of God, analogically imaging the Son's own eternal filiation from the Father." - John R. Betz University of Notre Dame"If grace often appears as arbitrary and unintelligible in the modern world, it is because we have lost the meaning of nature and creation. Scheeben's profound treatment of nature and the supernatural in the context of the doctrine of creation in this third volume was foundational for the twentieth century debate on nature and grace. With this translation, Michael J. Miller has ensured that Scheeben will once again prove foundational to any hoped for renewal of Catholic thought on these essential—and now urgent—questions." - Michael Hanby John Paul II Institute, Catholic University of America

• BOOK THREE: God in His Fundamental, Original Relation to the World or the Founding of the Natural and Supernatural Order of the WorldCHAPTER ONE: The world in its essential and general relation to God as to its principle and endA. Dependence of worldly beings on God as the principle of their coming to be, existence, and workingOrigin of all things from God through creation out of nothingThe temporality of creation and the beginning of the worldGod as principle of the existence and continuance of created beings: preservation of the world by GodGod as principle of all activity and of all working of creatures, or the natural concurrence of God as the motion of causes and cooperation with causes, or as cause of an action and joint cause of an effectB. The world’s dependence on God as its final purpose and ultimate end and on His guidance toward itEssential relation of created beings to God as the final purpose and ultimate end of their being, working, and strivingThe movement of worldly beings toward their final end in their dependence on the guidance or government of God through His ProvidenceC. The world in relation to the divine ideas and to God as its ideal: the general properties, multiplicity, and gradation of the individual worldly beings corresponding to that ideal, and also the order and unity, perfection and beauty of the whole worldCHAPTER TWO: Created beings individually in their nature and natural endowments and orderSECTION ONE The kingdom of pure spirits or angelsA. Name and general concept, existence, and origin of the angelsB. The being of the angels and its attributesa. The substance and essence of the angels: their incorporeality and immateriality or spiritualityb. The attributes of the being of angels, especially their incorruptibility and their relation to space: locality and mobilityC. The natural life and the efficacy of the angelsa. The life of the angels in generalb. The intellect and knowledge of the angelsc. The will and the volition of angelsd. The external power and efficacy of angels in relation to bodies, human beings, and other angels; esp. the miraculous power, the speech, and the illumination of angelsD. Number, differences, and hierarchy of the angels—the angelic world and its natural relation to the rest of the worldSECTION TWO The kingdom of material beings or of the visible worldTheological doctrines about the material world in generalThe doctrinal content of the Mosaic Hexaemeron: the teleological-architectonic arrangement of the visible cosmos and the genetic sequence of its members at their origination in God’s seven daysThe wording of the Hexaemeron and the geogony of natural scienceSECTION THREE Man, considered according to his natureA. The Creator’s last word and the theological idea of man as God’s likenessa. The formal meaning of the Creator’s last word and ecclesiastical languageb. The positive content and peculiar character of the theological idea of man as God’s image which is contained in the words of creationc. More detailed definition of the applicability and scope of the divine likeness both on man’s part and on God’s partB. The realization of the divine idea of man, i.e. the origin and substantial character of his nature, corresponding to this idea, in itself and in its racial development, or human nature considered genetically and constitutivelya. The divine production of the first human being in the creation of the man and the concomitant essential constitution of man corresponding to the idea of the divine image: man composed of a body and a spiritual soul through the union of the two into one natureb. The divine production of the first woman, the attendant constitution of human nature according to the difference of the sexes, and the union of the sexes founded thereon, corresponding to the divine image in human nature, so as to constitute the normal principle of the propagation of human nature and of human societyc. The reproduction of human nature by generation and the relation of generation to the constitution of human nature in the one generated, specifically God’s creative cooperation in producing His image in the fruit of the generation—origin of souls—and the resulting dignity of parenthoodd. The uniqueness of the original generating couple and the complete unity of species and true unity of lineage of all human beings communicated by begetting on the basis of that uniqueness, and also the concomitant organic-corporative unity of mankind in the totality of its individuals—as the full realization of the divine idea of manC. Human nature considered formally, i.e. as defined by the peculiar constitution of the human substance or the innate vital condition of manDistinctions and order among the faculties of human nature and among its areas of life. Framing the questionThe spiritual side of human nature in its essential and inalienable perfection as a living image of God: moral freedom and the active power and inclination to know and to love God (or the moral-religious order); particularly the nature of this freedom, which is characteristic of the image of GodThe animal side of human nature or man as “anima vivens” and the natural imperfections and defects of the animal lifeThe natural imperfections or the animal character of the spiritual life in man, or of lower reason, and the resulting difficulty in developing higher knowledge and the moral life, as well as the natural imperfection of the likeness of God in man generallyThe natural destination of the rational creature and its natural orderCHAPTER THREE: The supernatural order of rational creatures established at the same time as creation, or their supernatural destination and endowmentPART ONE: General theory of the supernatural and of graceSECTION ONE Fundamental concepts and Church doctrineGeneral concept of the supernatural and of supernature as opposed to nature and the natural [N.B. “§159” missing in original.]General concept of divine grace in its relation to the natural and the supernatural, specifically as principle and attribute of the latterThe most important errors concerning the supernatural and the Church doctrine formulated in opposition to them; particularly the anti-Pelagian and the anti Reformation Church doctrine in their relation to one anotherSECTION TWO Theory of the absolutely supernatural, i.e. of the elevation of the rational creature to a supernatural communion with God or to participation in God’s glory and lifeThe teaching of Sacred Scripture about supernatural communion with God, specifically under the term adoptive childhoodThe teaching of Tradition about supernatural communion with God, particularly from the perspective of the “divinization” of the creature through the participation in the spirituality, holiness, and glory of the divine nature entailed in the adoptive childhoodEternal life in the beatific vision of God or in “glory” as perfect participation in the glory and blessedness of the divine life, and therefore the supernatural final end of the rational creature and the ideal standard of supernatural life in generalThe supernatural character of the vital acts that lead to the final end of eternal life or introduce it, specifically from the threefold perspective of striving for eternal life, the unification with God that anticipates it—theological love or charity—and the morality corresponding to the call to eternal lifeThe elevating grace required for salutary acts, which qualify the soul for the supernatural life by a grace-filled interior strengthening, elevation, and transfiguration of the spiritual facultiesElevating grace in its normal and permanent form as a supernatural habit of the spiritual faculties or as an infused virtue, and its relation to its principle and its subject; specifically the theological virtuesThe state of grace, i.e. the elevation of the person’s state necessary to possess fully the life of grace and to merit eternal life, or as the nobility of the children of God; also its real foundation by an interior rebirth and transfiguration of created nature to a likeness and equal rank with the divine, or the nature of sanctifying grace as distinct from and in relation to the infused virtuesThe state of grace. Continuation. Its relation to God as its principle: the substantial indwelling of the Holy Ghost as uncreated grace, which is associated with created grace, both to seal the friendly relation of God’s children to God and to constitute fully the divine adoptive childhood itself as a substantial communion with God based on a grace-filled generation from God—or the Holy Ghost as a substantial complement of accidental sanctifying and gratifying graceA. The Western, specifically Scholastic understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as a friendly communion of God’s children with GodB. The Greek patristic view of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as a substantial communion with God that jointly constitutes the divine adoptionC. The harmony between the Latin-Scholastic and the Greek patristic understanding and the relation between indwelling uncreated grace and inhering created graceThe state of grace. Conclusion: sanctifying grace and the grace which makes pleasing in relation to nature as their subject. Their character as a second creation to complete and perfect the first creation supernaturally or to transfigure the image into the likeness of God by supernaturally ennobling the nature and its freedom and producing a higher, spiritual-holy nature and freedomThe relation of nature and of natural freedom to grace, insofar as this relation is given in nature as such or can be produced by it—as a true and living, but also a mere and unpretentious receptivity on the part of nature (potentia obedientialis) and an absolute gratuitousness on the part of graceThe relation of nature to grace, continued. The gracious vocation of nature to grace and the supernatural participation of natural freedom in gaining and receiving grace which is made possible by it and corresponds to it, or the process of introduction into the state of grace (motus ad gratiam)The obligatory vocation of nature to grace and the inclusion thereof in the supernatural order by the original and general law of the Creator of nature, or the supernatural destination included in the actual creative idea of the rational creature as a perfect likeness of God and also in the original expression of the creative idea in the “instituted nature”Overall idea of the supernatural order or its relation to the ultimate and highest final end of creation: the perfect external glorification contained therein of God and specifically of the Trinity and the resulting union of all spiritual creatures into one sanctuary of God or into the ideal ChurchSECTION THREE Theory of the relatively supernatural, i.e. of the supernatural perfecting of human nature as such as distinct from that of the angelsSupernatural content and character of the glorification of human nature in general which is contained in man’s final destination and original endowmentThe intrinsic supernatural nature specifically of the original glorification of human nature as an elevation of the soul in its relation to the body; its significance as a supernatural likeness of the angels and of God, and also its effect as incorruption, integrity, justice, and innocence of nature and of free willThe supernatural glorification of human nature from the perspective of the indebitum, or the bestowal thereof by free graceRelation of the relatively supernatural to the absolutely supernatural in man: the organic and compact union of integrity with grace in the divine idea of the spiritual or perfect man who in himself represents the full visible likeness of God and the visible temple of the Holy Ghost, and in the rightness of the instituted nature which is established and demanded therebyConclusion of the doctrine about the supernatural. Expansion of the supernatural order over the material world; man in the supernatural order as the center of all creationCorollary to the teaching about the supernatural in reference to man: the different states or conditions of human nature and of human freedom which are in themselves conceivable or historically realPART TWO: The concrete realization of the supernatural orderA. In the world of angelsFoundation, operation, and perfection of the supernatural order among the angels: grace, merit, and glory of the angelsThe position and vocation of the perfect angels with regard to the order of salvation in mankind and the two-way communication between them and human beings based thereon. The guardian angelsB. The original establishment of the supernatural order in mankindThe supernatural endowment of the first human beings, or holiness and original justice from the perspective of primordial justice, and the disciplinary precept associated with itThe supernatural endowment of the first human beings as a family estate and common property of the whole race which is to be transmitted, or original holiness and justice from the perspective of inherited justice and the significance of the disciplinary precept for its continuance in the human raceBibliographyScripture IndexSubject and Persons Index